Idaho Bird Records Committee Rarities Report Form

Species: Northern Parula, male, not the same individual seen on 23 May (see below)

Reporter:
Cliff Weisse
4125 Beaver Springs Rd.
Island Park, ID 83429
cliffandlisa@octobersetters.com

Other Observers: None

Date of Observation: 26 May 2009
Date Report Prepared: 27 May 2009

Locality of Observation: Camas NWR, along Camas Creek west of headquarters, a.k.a. Redstart Lane

Habitat: Riparian oasis in extensive desert/farming region

Conditions:  Sunny and calm to light wind.  Distance varied from 50 yards to 15 feet.  Sun from above and behind as well as in front of observer.  Binoculars were Nikon Premier 10x42.  Observation took place at approximately 8:45-9:05 AM, then again from 10:25-10:45 while taking photos.

Did you take notes… No

Did you consult a field guide or other reference work? The next day

Description: Small somewhat short-tailed parulid with thin bill.  Head and upperparts blue with bright olive wash on mantle forming triangle with wide side closest to head.  Tail was dark from below with white spots.  Undertail coverts, vent and belly white.  Legs pinkish.  Breast and throat yellow.  Upper breast had extensive broad area of diffuse chestnut with a hint of black in it.  This patch did not extend all the way to the sides on the breast but was limited to the center of the upper breast, covering perhaps 85 percent of the breast side to side and was surrounded by yellow.  Flanks were white with extensive smudgy chestnut markings below the bend of the wing.  Bill was dark above and bright yellow below, and widened or flattened at the base.

Behavior: Actively foraging mostly by gleaning.  The bird worked its way slowly through the canopy.  This individual ramained in Russian Olives and never entered nearby Cottonwood trees despite being within a few feet of them.  It once flew to bruch on the edge of an irrigation canal but quickly returned to the Russian Olives where it remained in the canopy.  This individual was singing continually all morning, although not as frequently during the latter observation.  The song was a rapid, buzzy trill, rising in pitch continually with one obvious step up in pitch.  During the second observation the bird sang a different song.  One was a slower trill that rose in pitch but had one or two drops in pitch as well.  

How and when did you positively identify the bird, and what clinched the identification for you?  I recognized the song immediately and assumed it was the same individual I saw on 23 May.  Upon locating the bird I confirmed the identity and it became apparent that it was not the same bird seen on the 23rd.  

How did you eliminate similar species, and what were they?  No other North American passerine has yellow underparts with black and chestnut band across breast.  Tropical Parula lacks distinct bands on breast and white eye arcs, and also has a black face.

Separation from the 23 May 2009 individual:
1) This bird sang two different songs and never sang one with two steps up in pitch like the 23 May bird
2) It remained in Russian Olives for hours and did not enter Cottonwoods while the 23 May bird foraged exclusively in Cottonwoods
3) The chestnu/black area did not extend all the way across the breast on this individual as it did on the 23 May bird
4) This individual had extensive chestnut smudging on the flanks while the 23 May individual did not have noticable chestnut in that region
5) a thorough search of the area by other birders on the afternoon of 23 May and the morning of 24 May did not turn up a Northern Parula.